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Winter 2021 1
Sustainability Bulletin
Inside this Issue 3 ……………………………………...………...Curriculum 4 ……………………………………..…..…..…Operations 5 ..………………..…………………...…….…….Research
6 ..………………………..…………….….….Engagement 7 ..……...…………………….……..Community Events 8 …………………………………………..……...Leadership 9 .....……………..…Sustainability Alumni Spotlight
@UAlbanyGreenScn
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Hot New World Professor Gabriel Hetland in the Latin American, Caribbean & U.S. Latino Studies department is teaching a new course :ALCS 330: Spec Topics in Latin America and the Caribbean– Hot New World: Climate Change in America What are some of the topics that you cover in your course? The course covers three main topics. First, what is climate change? That is, what is happening to the climate? Second, why is climate change happening? And third, what might be done? What interested you about teaching a course on the "hot new world"? Like most people I've become increasingly worried - "freaked out" is the real term - about climate change, which amongst other things threatens the viability of human life on the planet. I’m eager to learn, and teach about, what might be done to not just avert climate catastrophe but actually build a better world that is ecologically sustainable and socially justice, which means amongst other things addressing the ravages of colonialism, capitalism, and racism. Do you have any specific sustainability learning objectives for this course? I want students to come out of the course with a better understanding of 1) what is happening to the climate, 2) why, and 3) what might be done about it. How do you measure if students have increased their sustainability literacy? I assess student learning in two main ways right now: the first is through classroom discussion (via Zoom at the moment), in which I ask students questions about the readings and then listen carefully to their answers, to see how well they have understood the material. The second main way is through a series of mini-essays throughout the semester, on each main topic we cover: what is climate change?, what is the Anthropocene? what is the Green New Deal, and how does Indigenous resistance point towards addressing climate change? Is there anything else you want students to know about this course? Without hyperbole I tell students taking the course that we'll be learning about the most important issue in the world. Without addressing climate change we won't be able to address anything else, because we won't have a livable planet. So when I tell students to read and think like their lives depend on it, I'm not exaggerating.
Curriculum
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UCapture Last year, we announced the formal adoption of Our World: Our Future, the climate action and sustainability plan for the University at Albany. Included in the plan is a goal to reduce net carbon emissions by 40% by 2030. While we have plans in place to convert our heat and electricity to renewable sources, we will still produce emissions related to travel, food purchases, waste, etc. We anticipate tackling these emissions, in part, by using carbon offsets to reduce our net carbon footprint. We hope to engage our community in that effort. To do so we’ve partnered with a free green-tech platform called UCapture that helps universities go carbon neutral through community engagement. Through this new partnership, anyone in the UAlbany community can contribute to our sustainability goal for free… with just a few clicks! So, how does it work? UCapture’s browser extension gets over 30,000 online stores to donate part of your purchase to UAlbany’s carbon offset goal, at no extra cost, when you shop. Better than being free, UCapture will actually save you money because the extension automatically applies the best discount code available when checking out. What could be better than saving money and helping combat climate change? To take part, just visit www.ucapture.com/UAlbany and install the UCapture extension on your computer. Then, when you shop with one of UCapture’s partners, those stores will pay to fund carbon offset projects in our school’s name. Users can track their individual contribution, as well as see UAlbany’s progress on the UCapture University Leaderboard. Click here to get started.
Operations
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Impactful Research Community Science is participatory research conducted by amateur scientists whose monitoring helps advance the scientific community's capacity and increase public awareness and understanding.
The campus Sustainability Coordinators have been participating in two Community Science projects over the last couple of years. In the Fall of 2019, coordinator Gary Ribis took the lead in completing the training for the Albany Pine Bush Preserve’s snowpack monitoring project and organized our participation. Each week from October to April, coordinators take turns reading the depth of snow on Uptown Campus Podium after a winter campus using a snow gauge located near the snow fall UPD building. Gary reports this data to the Pine Bush Preserve’s entomologist who uses it to study wildlife population dynamics, such as the correlation between snowpack and the prevalence of species like the Karner blue butterfly. Several coordinators also participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count each February. This global event has citizens observe birds from their home for at least 15 minutes during a 4-day reporting period and send in their observations. You can see the results at their website. The Albany Pine Bush Preserve also has a Community Science project on frog watching and the Five Rivers Environmental Center has several projects including bluebird nest box monitoring, bat counts, monarch larva monitoring and a winter raptor survey. And there are more opportunities listed at this DEC website.
Research
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Around the Help the City of Albany be Sustainable Are you concerned about climate change? Want to create a more sustainable, healthy, resilient community? Then consider volunteering on one of the 7 subcommittees of the Albany City Sustainability Advisory Committee (SAC). You don’t have to live in Albany to join and meetings are held virtually. Subcommittees are listed below. Review the descriptions and email gogreen@albany.edu if you are interested. Outreach: Focused on identifying the community’s concerns and aspirations for Albany’s sustainability and communicating the SAC’s activities. Meets on the third Wednesdays of each month from 7-8 pm via Zoom. Energy: A dynamic group of approximately 10 City residents who work in the energy field or have an interest in helping the City and its residents switch to renewable energy and move toward a higher level of energy efficiency. Transportation: Focuses on Complete Streets Implementation, Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Implementation, and Development of a Transportation Safety Education Campaign. Subcommittee members have helped identify priority streets for the City’s Bicycle/Pedestrian Master Plan, created and implemented a public survey to gather data on Electric Vehicle infrastructure needs in the City, and have provided feedback on various transportation safety initiatives and traffic studies. Water: Works closely with the City of Albany Water Department (AWD) to help identify measures to enhance sustainability and resilience with a key focus on the development of a Sustainability Plan. The committee also focuses on enhancing public awareness of how the city’s water is provided. The group meets he last Tuesday of each month from 6-7pm via Zoom. Urban Agriculture: Acts as a liaison between community-based and grassroots advocates for food sovereignty and urban agriculture and the city of Albany. It identifies legal barriers that block the implementation of local food solutions, and searches for opportunities for meaningful and reciprocal partnerships. Zero Waste Education: Focus on education and outreach about the importance of reducing waste. The group shares resources to help residents refuse, reuse, recycle and reduce dependency on single-use plastics. The group works closely with the Zero Waste Capital District. The subcommittee meets on the 4th Mondays of the month at 6:30 pm via Zoom.
Engagement
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Community Around the Community Earth Hour Saturday, March 27, 8:30 - 9:30 PM Every year, at 8:30 pm on the last Saturday of March, millions of people across the world join in raising awareness of the issues facing our planet. Earth Hour is more than just an hour for the planet - it's a movement for our future and a catalyst for urgent change. This year, turn off your lights at 8:30 pm on March 27th and show your support for the planet. DM your photo to @ualbanygreenscn on Instagram for a chance to win sustainable Green Scene swag.
Eco Careers Conference Wednesday and Thursday April 7 and 8, 11:00 AM 5:00 PM both days, Virtual Featuring career planning activities and targeted advice for those going into: health care, community resilience, green infrastructure, environmental and social justice and journalism, this virtual conference is valuable to all students preparing for their career. Learn more about the conference here. Registration is FREE for the UAlbany community; simply select “Campus Sponsor Student” or “Campus Sponsor Faculty and Staff” under Ttcket types, select University at Albany from the dropdown list, and use your school email address on the registration page.
Solve Climate 2030, NY style Wednesday, April 7, 6:00 - 8:00 PM, Virtual The NYS version of the international event Solve Climate 2030, creating dialogs between students and climate thought leaders. The New York version of the live event will feature a one hour panel discussion following by breakout rooms. The panel will be recorded and link sent to registrants. Sign up for this event here.
Terra Award nominations Deadline April 9 Do you know someone that has made an innovative contribution to sustainability at UAlbany? Nominate them for a Terra Award! More events can be found at the Green Scene calendar.
Events
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Student Leadership Opportunities Student Sustainability Leadership Council The campus is launching a student Sustainability Leadership Council to assist in reviewing our progress and identifying priorities. The group will strive to hold sustainability discussion forums and work to create collaborative solutions on priority issues. The purpose is to provide a forum for the student voice, facilitate responsiveness to issues of high interest and create connectivity between sustainability advocates. The group is expected to meet monthly and will draw from existing sustainability student groups and campus members at large. It is open to both graduate and undergraduate students. If interested, email gogreen@albany.edu
Climate Reality Training Al Gore's Climate Reality project has been providing free trainings in climate education and communication since his breakthrough documentary An Inconvenient Truth. This year's leadership corps training will be delivered virtually, which means there is no costs involved. The application for the US edition, occurring between April 22 an May 2, is now open. The deadline to apply is March 24. Click here to learn more.
Student Efforts to Advance Sustainability in New York (SEAS NY) Conference A student-founded conference aiming to engage, inspire, and empower students to enact sustainable change on campuses in New York State. It is being organized by students from Union College, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Cornell University, and Bard College. The event will take place on Saturday April 17th. There are still openings for additional students to speak and share their experience of sustainability projects on their campus. You can view the conference details here. It is also free to register and attend.
Leadership
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Sustainability Alumni Spotlight Katherine McDermott 1. What year did you graduate? 2018 and 2021 2. What was your major/minor? BS Biochemistry and Molecular Biology '18, MS Environmental Health '21. 3. What was your co-curricular and student organization involvement on campus? I was first a Biology LLC member as a freshman, further becoming involved in the Sustainability Office between Sophomore and Senior years and serving as the Sustainability Housing Manager representative from Empire Commons as a senior. I was also the first director of the Undergraduate Student Association's Department of Health and Sustainability,. Thanks to President Jerlisa "Juju" Fontaine for creating the position! 4. What are you doing now? Where do you live? I am a Solar Developer with Cipriani Energy Group, an Albany-based community solar organization. We source real estate, manage customer relationships and contracts, local planning and zoning boards, and organize our teams of engineers and contractors through construction completion. We work throughout New York and are expected to expand to other states soon. After work, I'm writing my master's thesis about the negative health and ecological impacts of glyphosate-based herbicides, such as Monsanto's RoundUp. 5. How have you applied your experience with the sustainability movement on campus and involvement with the Office of Sustainability into your post-college life and career? I've learned it is important to invest in sustainability and work with our partners on implementing the right policies. As a solar developer, we can move forward only if a solar zoning code exists, and no solar development moratorium has been implemented. There are town and county leaders who can be notorious for being friendly - or not - to the solar industry. Working with our colleagues and decision makers to invest in our community with the right practices is the most important thing - it all adds up.
The Office of Sustainability is proud of the successes of our alumni! They were essential in the early stages of the sustainability movement at UAlbany and have shaped where it is now. 9